Multicultural Volunteer Project Update (April/May 2004)

For the past six months we have been funded by Volunteer Canada to research volunteer traditions and models among seniors from Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Punjabi, Spanish-speaking and Vietnamese backgrounds. After 25 focus groups, 63 key informant interviews and a literature review, it’s time to figure out what we’ve found!

The final report will be available at the end of the month, either from me or by downloading it from the 411 website. I’ll also be sharing the results with organizations across the Lower Mainland in a series of April workshops. For now, I’ll leave you with some sample quotes:

§ “If a senior is inactive, it leads to sickness and depression. If they volunteer, I can see the difference. They become proud of themselves, feel they can give to others what they have.”

§ “If you don’t get involved, you don’t have the right to squawk.”

§ “We need to change how the non-government organizations (NGO) get and use volunteers, which will change the organization, increasing its understanding and cultural competence. Better volunteer programs will help the NGO serve the community better. Let them reach and be connected to ethno-cultures.”

§ “In our blood there is that we don’t work for pay. Usually we work for free, for our neighbours, our community.”

§ “In other cultures, volunteering is not recognized, just part of everyday life, part of being in a community. Here it’s coined to mean more, more structured, more recognized. Ethnic seniors need to understand the process and meaning, otherwise bureaucracy will turn them away.”

§ “In the Phillipines, we do it automatically, of our own volition. Here you have to qualify to be a volunteer!”

§ “We don’t hear more about the huge amount of work done by immigrants because the language barrier makes it hard to get involved in better-known organizations and hard to communicate the good work they are doing.”

§ “When I immigrated I was not mentally prepared. Now I can help others with the transition.”

§ “The organization should first open the space for people to see it as a place where they can get together. Then, they’ll want to contribute, and understand that contribution has to happen within certain parameters. Then you can explain forms, waivers, etc. You have to start with belonging and trust in the organization.”

§ “Volunteering answers my need for belonging.”

~Rick Juliusson